Forty years of reform and opening up: China’s progress toward a sustainable path

Lu, Yonglong; Zhang, Yueqing; Cao, Xianghui; Wang, Chenchen; Wang, Yichao; Zhang, Meng; Ferrier, Robert C.; Jenkins, Alan; Yuan, Jingjing; Bailey, Mark J.; Chen, Deliang; Tian, Hanqin; Li, Hong; von Weizsäcker, Ernst Ulrich; Zhang, Zhongxiang. 2019 Forty years of reform and opening up: China’s progress toward a sustainable path. Science Advances, 5 (8), eaau9413. 10, pp. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aau9413

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aau9413

Abstract/Summary

After 40 years of reform and “opening up,” China has made remarkable economic progress. Such economic prosperity, however, has been coupled with environmental degradation. We analyze diverse long-term data to determine whether China is experiencing a decoupling of economic growth and environmental impacts, and where China stands with respect to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in terms of reducing regional division, urban-rural gap, social inequality, and land-based impacts on oceans. The results highlight that China’s desire to achieve “ecological civilization” has resulted in a decoupling trend for major pollutants since 2015, while strong coupling remains with CO2 emissions. Progress has been made in health care provision, poverty reduction, and gender equity in education, while income disparity continues between regions and with rural-urban populations. There is a considerable way to go toward achieving delivery of the SDGs; however, China’s progress toward economic prosperity and concomitant sustainability provides important insights for other countries.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aau9413
UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:	Directors, SCs
ISSN:	2375-2548
Additional Information. Not used in RCUK Gateway to Research.:	Open Access paper - full text available via Official URL link.
NORA Subject Terms:	Ecology and Environment
Date made live:	12 Aug 2019 11:57 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/524702

Item Type:

Publication - Article

Digital Object Identifier (DOI):

https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aau9413

UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:

Directors, SCs

ISSN:

2375-2548

Additional Information. Not used in RCUK Gateway to Research.:

Open Access paper - full text available via Official URL link.

NORA Subject Terms:

Ecology and Environment